Exploring Sweetwater Creek

Hiking is one of our favorite things to do, and Georgia has so many great hikes! 👣🌳 Only about 15 miles from downtown Atlanta is Sweetwater Creek State Park! It has multiple hiking trails, historic ruins, a rushing white-water creek. We couldn’t believe how close it was to the city! And the best part is it’s dog-friendly! 🐶

🌟Park office/museum hours: 9am – 5pm everyday

💵 $5 Parking Fee

What really makes this hiking spot cool is that movies are filmed here! 📽 One of the most well-known movies that were filmed at Sweetwater Creek is the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s pretty cool to recognize certain things while you’re hiking that was featured in the film!

Like we said, there are multiple trails. One of the most popular is the red trail, so that’s the one we decided to take! It’s about 2 miles roundtrip, and in our opinion, it’s a fairly moderate hike. It’s pretty shaded the whole way. Which is great if you go in the summer, you won’t be dying in the Georgia heat! 😆🔥

New Manchester Mill Ruins

There’s beautiful rushing water along the hike. About a half mile into the hike, we came across the New Manchester Mill Historic Ruins. It’s a four-story red brick building (what’s left of it) that was destroyed during the Civil War. And was featured in a more recent Hunger Games!

Above is one of the lookouts where you can see the beautiful white-water and rapid flowing creek below.

The trail ends when you run right into the rushing creek that’s filled with tons of rocks. It’s a great spot to sit, relax, have a snack, and enjoy the beautiful views. We came prepared and wore our water shoes so that we could actually walk out on the rocks and check out the scenery! But the rocks are very slippery so you have to be careful.

Sweetwater Creek is easily one of the best and most scenic hikes in the Atlanta area. It gives you all the beauty of an outdoor adventure and more, without the far drive! With different trails that range in difficulty levels and miles, there is a hike for families to seasoned experts! We can’t wait to come back and maybe kayak next time!☀️ 🚣🏼‍♀️